Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has said that Sanju Samson was mistreated in the Indian team. He should have been a part of the Indian T20I XI in 2024 after those big centuries, but instead he lost his place to Shubman Gill.
India were the defending champions and looked to be one of the strongest teams in the T20 World Cup, but during their tournament debut, Abhishek Sharma’s poor form led to them losing an early lead in their home World Cup. The issue was resolved with the bold entry of Sanju Samson in the Indian XI.
Sanju did not find a place in the playing eleven until the New Zealand series, but he was given a try after the Indian selectors dropped Shubman Gill from the team. However, despite the opportunities, Samson could not make full use of the New Zealand games and scored at an average of around 10.
I think serious mistakes have been made with Sanju Samson – Sanjay Manjrekar
Cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar highlighted the fact that the Indian team management had been unfair to the wicketkeeper batsman in the beginning. India suddenly ignored his excellent form in T20 and reinstated Shubman Gill into the squad due to his impressive performance in the Test series in England.
Forget Samson’s influence; Gill was not effective even in the shorter format of the game.
“With Sanju Samson, I think serious mistakes were made. One was when Sanju Samson came of age and had recently scored three T20 International centuries in five innings against teams like South Africa. In fact he was dropped lower down the order after a few matches, after four or five innings, because Shubman Gill had a tremendous Test series in England.
Speaking in a video on Instagram, he said, “This distorts the logic that because Shubman Gill played so well in Test cricket, he was reinstated, he was recalled to the Indian T20 team and what is worse, Sanju Samson, who was at the top of the order, was pushed down to make way for Shubman Gill.”
Sanjay Manjrekar explains how Samson’s T20 World Cup comeback story was written
Gradually losing his form in the Asia Cup, he continued to play with Sanju, where he was sent to bat lower in the batting order. However, despite limited opportunities, Samson scored 132 runs in 4 innings in the Asia Cup, which is 5 runs more than Shubman Gill’s score of 127 runs in 7 innings.
The former batsman cited the crucial role of luck in reinducting Sanju Samson into the Indian playing XI and his role in taking India home through the knockout matches in the ICC T20 World Cup.
“Now, this is where luck comes in. Rinku Singh’s absence [actually Abhishek Sharma due to illness] in one of the games [against Namibia] Sanju Samson returned and Tilak Verma, who was struggling at No. 3, was pushed down the order. [against Zimbabwe]And that is why Ishan Kishan was batting at number 3.
“He could have batted at No. 3 and Sanju Samson got the spot that should have been his at the top of the order, and as they say, the rest is history,” Manjrekar said.
Sanju Samson’s record three-match half-century innings emerges as India’s World Cup hero
Sanju was dropped despite the batsman’s excellent form in 2024 for India in T20I cricket and limited opportunities to express himself in 2025; However, he had to wait eagerly for the right phase, and he did.
When he got an unexpected opportunity in the T20 World Cup, Samson did not miss it. He started with an innings of 22 runs against Namibia and followed it up with 24 off 15 against Zimbabwe.
However, his real redemption came when India were almost in a knockout position against West Indies. His innings of 97* off 50 balls helped him reach the semi-finals in the high-voltage chase, and again he looked unstoppable.
Thanks to innings of 89 out of 42 against England in the semi-finals and 89 out of 46 against New Zealand in the final, Samson finished the tournament with 321 runs at a strike rate of 199.37.
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